This readme file was generated on <2025-12-09> by <OMANJANA GOSWAMI>

<text in angle brackets should be changed for your specific dataset>

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# GENERAL INFORMATION

## Title of Dataset: Less Fertilizer, Better Outcomes: USDA Conservation Programs Benefit Both Farmers and the Planet

## Author/Principal Investigator Information
Name: Omanjana Goswami

ORCID:0000-0001-7539-4508

Institution: Union of Concerned Scientists

Address: 1825 K St NW, Suite 800, Washington DC 20006

Email: OGoswami@ucs.org

## Author/Associate or Co-investigator Information
Name: Precious Tshabalala

ORCID:0000-0001-8902-150X

Institution: Union of Concerned Scientists

Address: 1825 K St NW, Suite 800, Washington DC 20006

Email: PTshabalala@ucs.org

## Date of data collection: 
8/11/2025

## Geographic location of data collection:
Washington DC, USA

## Information about funding sources that supported the collection of the data:
N/A

# SHARING/ACCESS INFORMATION

## Licenses/restrictions placed on the data:  
This dataset is made available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommerical 4.0 International License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/

## Links to publications that cite or use the data: 
www.ucs.org/resources/less-fertilizer-better-outcomes
https://doi.org/10.47923/2026.16101

## Links to other publicly accessible locations of the data: https://dataverse.harvard.edu/dataset.xhtml?persistentId=doi%3A10.7910%2FDVN%2FUGIVGN&showIngestSuccess=true&version=DRAFT

## Links/relationships to ancillary data sets: n/a

Was data derived from another source? No

If yes, list source(s): n/a

## Recommended citation for this dataset: https://doi.org/10.47923/2026.16101


# DATA & FILE OVERVIEW

## File List: 
<list all files (or folders, as appropriate for dataset organization) contained in the dataset with a brief description>
* <R code and input files_OG>
    * <NitrogenApplied_ByState_OG.csv> containing quantity of fertilizer applied in pounds on corn and soy in Illinois, Iowa, and Minnesota
    * <FertUse_GHGCalc_OG.csv> containing quantity of fertilizer applied in metric ton in the US and in corn and soy in Illinois, Iowa, and Minnesota
    * <Excess50_FertUse_GHGcalc_OG.csv> containing quantity of fertilizer applied in metric ton in the US and in corn and soy in Illinois, Iowa, and Minnesota; and excess fertilizer applied assuming 50 percent NUE
    * <Excess30_FertUse_GHGcalc_OG.csv> containing quantity of fertilizer applied in metric ton in the US and in corn and soy in Illinois, Iowa, and Minnesota; and excess fertilizer applied assuming 30 percent NUE
* <Stata .do file with syntax>
    * Contains NitrogenApplied_ByState, GHG emissions from fertilizer use, and estimations of GHG emissions using lower and higher parameters for sensitivity analysis


## Relationship between files, if important: 

## Additional related data collected that was not included in the current data package: 

## Are there multiple versions of the dataset? No. 
If yes, name of file(s) that was updated: n/a

Why was the file updated? n/a

When was the file updated? n/a


# METHODOLOGICAL INFORMATION

## Description of methods used for collection/generation of data: Data was downloaded from linked sources on August 11, 2025. 
<include links or references to publications or other documentation containing experimental design or protocols used in data collection>

Fertilizer use for US: Downloaded nitrogen fertilizer used in the US data from IFASTAT at https://www.ifastat.org/databases/graph/1_2 on August 11, 2025
Fertilizer use for Illinois, Iowa, and Minnesota: Downloaded fertilizer used on corn (2021) and soybean (2023) edata from USDA NASS Quickstats query tool on August 11, 2025
Link for corn query: https://quickstats.nass.usda.gov/results/50DFA24D-16D1-3DF6-A345-82E67824EF9A#5812F8D6-EF01-3E0D-AAFA-AAE94B35DC47
Link for soybean query: https://quickstats.nass.usda.gov/results/6ABC76A8-1866-3647-B779-3355AA65908E#CDFBB714-12FD-32BC-A335-64251BB38DAD

## Methods for processing the data: 
<describe how the submitted data were generated from the raw or collected data> 

Attached R code was used for converting the data from pounds (lbs) to metric tons, and for all subsequent analyses using the data. 
The Stata syntax used to conduct the sensitivity analysis is attached.  

## Instrument- or software-specific information needed to interpret the data: 
<include full name and version of software, and any necessary packages or libraries needed to run scripts>

R (version 4.4.1), using the tidyverse and dplyr packages

## Standards and calibration information, if appropriate: n/a

## Environmental/experimental conditions: n/a

## Describe any quality-assurance procedures performed on the data: 

## People involved with sample collection, processing, analysis and/or submission: 
Omanjana Goswami, Precious Tshabalala

# DATA-SPECIFIC INFORMATION FOR: [FILENAME] NitrogenApplied_ByState_OG.csv
<repeat this section for each dataset, folder or file, as appropriate>

Number of variables: 3

Number of cases/rows: 7

Variable List: <list variable name(s), description(s), unit(s) and value labels as appropriate for each>
* <variable 1> Crop
* <variable 2> State
* <variable 3> Nitrogen Applied in units of pounds (lbs)

Missing data codes: <list code/symbol and definition>
* <missing data code, e.g. null, n/a, blank>
n/a

Specialized formats or other abbreviations used: .csv
* <file format, e.g. .xlsx - anything that requires a specific software to open>
* <abbreviation, e.g. SDG - UN Sustainable Development Goal>

# DATA-SPECIFIC INFORMATION FOR: [FILENAME] FertUse_GHGcalc_OG.csv
<repeat this section for each dataset, folder or file, as appropriate>

Number of variables: 2

Number of cases/rows: 5

Variable List: <list variable name(s), description(s), unit(s) and value labels as appropriate for each>
* <variable 1> Region
* <variable 2> Fertilizer applied in units of metric tons


Missing data codes: <list code/symbol and definition>
* <missing data code, e.g. null, n/a, blank>
n/a

Specialized formats or other abbreviations used: .csv
* <file format, e.g. .xlsx - anything that requires a specific software to open>
* <abbreviation, e.g. SDG - UN Sustainable Development Goal>

# DATA-SPECIFIC INFORMATION FOR: [FILENAME] Excess50_FertUse_GHGcalc.csv
<repeat this section for each dataset, folder or file, as appropriate>

Number of variables: 3

Number of cases/rows: 5

Variable List: <list variable name(s), description(s), unit(s) and value labels as appropriate for each>
* <variable 1> Region
* <variable 2> Fertilizer applied in units of metric tons
* <variable 3> Excess fertilizer applied in units of metric tons


Missing data codes: <list code/symbol and definition>
* <missing data code, e.g. null, n/a, blank>
n/a

Specialized formats or other abbreviations used: .csv
* <file format, e.g. .xlsx - anything that requires a specific software to open>
* <abbreviation, e.g. SDG - UN Sustainable Development Goal>

# DATA-SPECIFIC INFORMATION FOR: [FILENAME] Excess30_FertUse_GHGcalc.csv
<repeat this section for each dataset, folder or file, as appropriate>

Number of variables: 3

Number of cases/rows: 5

Variable List: <list variable name(s), description(s), unit(s) and value labels as appropriate for each>
* <variable 1> Region
* <variable 2> Fertilizer applied in units of metric tons
* <variable 3> Excess fertilizer applied in units of metric tons


Missing data codes: <list code/symbol and definition>
* <missing data code, e.g. null, n/a, blank>
n/a

Specialized formats or other abbreviations used: .csv
* <file format, e.g. .xlsx - anything that requires a specific software to open>
* <abbreviation, e.g. SDG - UN Sustainable Development Goal>


# DATA-SPECIFIC INFORMATION FOR: [FILENAME] GHG emissions and Sensitivity analysis for all [Recovered].do
<repeat this section for each dataset, folder or file, as appropriate>

Number of variables: 5

Number of cases/rows: 5

Variable List: <list variable name(s), description(s), unit(s) and value labels as appropriate for each> For the Low scenario
* <variable 1> EdirectN2O_low
* <variable 2> EGASF_low
* <variable 3> ELEACH_low 
* <variable 4> Edec_low
* <variable 5> Elime_low     

Missing data codes: <list code/symbol and definition>
* <missing data code, e.g. null, n/a, blank>
n/a

Specialized formats or other abbreviations used: GHG emissions and Sensitivity analysis for all [Recovered].do
* <file format, e.g. .dta - requires Stata to open>


# DATA-SPECIFIC INFORMATION FOR: [FILENAME] GHG emissions and Sensitivity analysis for all [Recovered].do
<repeat this section for each dataset, folder or file, as appropriate>

Number of variables: 5

Number of cases/rows: 5

Variable List: <list variable name(s), description(s), unit(s) and value labels as appropriate for each> For the High scenario
* <variable 1> EdirectN2O_high
* <variable 2> EGASF_high
* <variable 3> ELEACH_high
* <variable 4> Edec_high
* <variable 5> Elime_high     

Missing data codes: <list code/symbol and definition>
* <missing data code, e.g. null, n/a, blank>
n/a

Specialized formats or other abbreviations used: GHG emissions and Sensitivity analysis for all [Recovered].do
* <file format, e.g. .dta - requires Stata to open>


